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Growing Up

Posted Oct 08 2013 12:00am

Two pictures of Kayla from several years ago. She is 10 now. Double digits. Tween. Pre-puberty. Hormonal and emotional. Dependent and independent. Growing up.

It doesn't seem that long ago that she was our little girl. We didn't know what to expect ... and still don't. She is still showing us. She is still paving her way. She is still figuring out her place in this world; and so are we.

This first picture is a favorite of mine. A glimpse of the beautiful girl she is growing up to be.

This second picture is a favorite of Joe's. She'll always be his little girl...in the same way that all fathers think of their daughters.

There is a frequent mind-set that I've heard since Kayla was born ... the impression that kids with Down syndrome stay babies 'longer' and you get to 'enjoy the baby stage longer' and 'they don't grow up, so you'll always have a child.'

But it's not true. They do grow up. They get a year older every year. She was a baby, then a toddler, then a preschooler, and now she's 10.